Dynamics NAV / Business Central Developer Digest - Vol 383
ArcherPoint’s Developer Digest focuses on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central development and Dynamics NAV development. In Developer Digest Volume 383, we cover issues with debugging in BC using Visual Studio 2022, working with Docker artifacts, replacing SIFT keys with NCCI, and the ostrich algorithm.
The Dynamics NAV and Business Central community, including the ArcherPoint technical staff, is made up of developers, project managers, and consultants who are constantly communicating, with the common goal of sharing helpful information with one another to help customers be more successful.
As they run into issues and questions, find the answers, and make new discoveries, they post them on blogs, forums, social media…so everyone can benefit. We in Marketing watch these interactions and never cease to be amazed by the creativity, dedication, and brainpower we’re so fortunate to have in this community—so we thought, wouldn’t it be great to share this great information with everyone who might not have the time to check out the multitude of resources out there?
So, the ArcherPoint Microsoft Dynamics NAV/BC Developer Digest was born. Each week, we present a collection of thoughts and findings from NAV/BC experts and devotees around the world. We hope these insights will benefit you, too.
Setting Up BC Debugging Using Visual Studio 2022
Tom inquires: “Does anyone know how to set up Business Central debugging using Visual Studio 2022? I know how to do it with VS Code, but the customer doesn’t have that installed. I thought I’d ask before I went to them and asked for permission to install VS Code in case there’s a way to do it.”
Heinrich replies: “I have not come across that. Should be simple enough to allow VS Code install.”
Kyle says: “I have never tried it, but supposably the AL Extension can be loaded into normal Visual Studio.”
Matt T adds: “This used to be the case in maybe the first version of AL. Then it went away. It’s entirely possible that you can do it again, but I’ve never had a reason to try.”
Tom concludes: “I tried installing the AL extension in Visual Studio, but it wasn’t there. I am going to install VS Code and work with that instead.”
Developer Tip of the Day: Replacing SIFT Keys with NCCI
Kyle shares his most recent developer tip: “The nonclustered columnstore index (NCCI) is envisioned to be the successor of SumIndexField Technology (SIFT). This article provides examples of how to replace one or more SIFT keys on a table with a nonclustered columnstore index.”
Developer Tip of the Day: Docker Artifacts
Kyle shares another tip: “You can download a Docker artifact directly and open or extract the contents using 7Zip. It contains source code, apps, configuration packages, and a Cronus database.”
Business Central Resources Compiled in One Comprehensive List
Steve Endow has put together an impressively comprehensive list of Dynamics 365 Business Central resources. Both consultants and developers alike will want to bookmark this post as is has links to everything from event calendars and blogs to books and Microsoft documentation, plus so much more. Check it out!
The Ostrich Algorithm
Kyle shares: “In computer science, the ostrich algorithm is a strategy of ignoring potential problems on the basis that they might be exceedingly rare. It is named after the ostrich effect, which is defined as “to stick one’s head in the sand and pretend there is no problem”. It is used when it is more cost-effective to allow the problem to occur than to attempt its prevention.”
Tom adds: “I’ve been known to utilize this algorithm from time to time. Generally, I explain it to both myself and others by saying, ‘If it’s not a problem, it’s not a problem.’ It nearly always works out for me. I have had to fix a few issues where someone else was using this, though. I recall some reports for a customer that were using code that was the opposite of optimized, where the original developer was copying ledger tables into temporary tables, and the users were hitting the 2-gig temporary table limit. I fixed it by optimizing the code a little.”
Business Central Support Blog
If you don’t already have this one bookmarked, check out and save the Microsoft Community Support Blog for Business Central.
Interested in Dynamics NAV and/or Business Central development? Be sure to see our collection of NAV/BC Development Blogs.
Read “How To” blogs from ArcherPoint for practical advice on using Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 Business Central.